This may be the first time I have been greeted by nothing but smiles at being a foreigner. We were greeted by song at the school and given packets of leaves by the age 5-11 students. Some people are impressed that Canadians and Americans work together. We are smiled and waved at when driving down the street. Word of our mission here has spread far and wide, and I am so happy to be here to help instead of simply as a tourist. I wonder if I could ever be a tourist in a less fortunate location again? Either way, the 20 computers we’ve assembled as a full time computer lab will surely have a substantial impact on the local community for many years to come.
At another school, we found conditions in much poorer shape than at the Primary school where we installed the computers. They were so grateful for the school supplies, we immediately ran outside and played with some of the athletic equipment we brought. Not everything we did was perfect – I think many students would rather the soccer balls be volleyballs. But I met a small child who latched on, he wanted to be an Olympic athlete and a professional cricket player. Though his classes were taught in Arabic (it's the one Muslim school in the town of the total 95 schools), he knew Sinhalese, Tamil, and English – all are taught as secondary languages at the school. Apparently the Muslim community comes from one section of town that receives much less government attention (road upkeep, recovery aid for example) and yet living with little more than a roof, I saw sparks of intelligence, a great understanding of the English language, and nothing but smiles. I am truly humbled, and I was wide awake at 3am trying to determine how I can connect myself and contribute more to give more opportunities for growth to those I now find myself around.
Bob
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Dmac's Update
Yesterday was another activity filled day. We went to a small desolate 5 room school with over 100 bright and beautiful kids between grade 1 and 5. All are dressed in uniforms with crisp white shirts and little ties. It is hard to imagine the contrast of the facilities and the children's dress. They graciously accepted our donation of school supplies sent by our friends and families back in North America. It is clear that Sri Lankans are very committed to educating their kids for a better tomorrow. However their resources are very thin. Population growth does not seem to be an issue as most families have a minimum of two children. All of the kids love to try out their english on us. Common questions are; "how are you", "what is your name", "where are you from". They smile when we take pictures and love to see to digital image on the back of the camera!
We worked at the home doing more concrete work on the walls. Sergio at 6'2" is the de facto painter as he towers over the Sri Lankan men. Upon our return from lunch we brought a replacement wheel barrow. The one on the work site was at least 30 years old and could no longer hold any sand. The look on the family's face as Sergio wheeled me up the drive in it, was sheer delight. We could now move concrete and sand around at twice the pace. There is so little investment in tools and productivity here by the locals it is sobering. It is clear without external stimulus the development here in Sri Lanka will crawl.
Today we will have the official ceremony at the school with our computer lab. Over 100 guests will attend the event. We will be proud on behalf of the employees of Softchoice to receive their gracious thanks for our contribution to their children's future.
Dmac (Softchoice President)
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010
We worked at the home doing more concrete work on the walls. Sergio at 6'2" is the de facto painter as he towers over the Sri Lankan men. Upon our return from lunch we brought a replacement wheel barrow. The one on the work site was at least 30 years old and could no longer hold any sand. The look on the family's face as Sergio wheeled me up the drive in it, was sheer delight. We could now move concrete and sand around at twice the pace. There is so little investment in tools and productivity here by the locals it is sobering. It is clear without external stimulus the development here in Sri Lanka will crawl.
Today we will have the official ceremony at the school with our computer lab. Over 100 guests will attend the event. We will be proud on behalf of the employees of Softchoice to receive their gracious thanks for our contribution to their children's future.
Dmac (Softchoice President)
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010
Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Thoughts on hard work
Two days of traveling and three days of working, and that means real work. Of our jobs, one is to contribute to the building of a Trades facility – teaching those in Tangalle to learn carpentry, plumbing, and other professional skills that simply do not exist in abundance within hours of the village.
For starters, this means laying a foundation in 80 degree (and 80 %) meant that within 10 minutes my shirt was drenches and sweat fell down my face. To begin a foundation, one must first dig holes. In the back corner hole we found the hardest dirt on the island - – a sort of a mixture of dry clay and hard rock that simply doesn’t respond to a shovel and comes out one handful at a time. So, we dug the 4 x 4 x 4 hole with a long iron rod and emptied the dirt by hand. Who knew it was possible to dig with a rod? After half a day of work between three people, we were ½ done with that one hole… one more day later and finally the concrete (another extraordinary task when multiple batches are mixed by hand – 40 shovels of sand, 2 wheel barrows of gravel, one bag of cement and plenty of water began to enter the hole.
Simply said, without machines it just takes a tremendous amount of manpower to accomplish anything, and machines cost money. How does a community make the jump? At 700 Rupees per day (about $7) for each worker, and all the time in the world, buildings will continue to be built slowly and at tremendous effort.
Yet with this sort of work and wage, all we find are smiles and pride. This is just my own small example of the magnitude of the effort – and my effort was small relative to those who build day in and out while working twice as fast with half the breaks. They are slender, friendly, with big smiles, knowledge of English, and they don’t seem to ever stop working or welcoming.
Has anyone spoken yet of the tea? 10am is tea time. It is required we sit and rest – and we are served by those we work alongside. It is a new and awkward experience, but they wouldn’t have it any other way. A few minutes later we bring a football or a frisbee and lighten the mood – it’s appreciated all the way around.
I don’t know the purpose of the above story aside from showing my admiration of those who are born and build their lives with humble expectations on this beautiful island.
Bob Hardin
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010
For starters, this means laying a foundation in 80 degree (and 80 %) meant that within 10 minutes my shirt was drenches and sweat fell down my face. To begin a foundation, one must first dig holes. In the back corner hole we found the hardest dirt on the island - – a sort of a mixture of dry clay and hard rock that simply doesn’t respond to a shovel and comes out one handful at a time. So, we dug the 4 x 4 x 4 hole with a long iron rod and emptied the dirt by hand. Who knew it was possible to dig with a rod? After half a day of work between three people, we were ½ done with that one hole… one more day later and finally the concrete (another extraordinary task when multiple batches are mixed by hand – 40 shovels of sand, 2 wheel barrows of gravel, one bag of cement and plenty of water began to enter the hole.
Simply said, without machines it just takes a tremendous amount of manpower to accomplish anything, and machines cost money. How does a community make the jump? At 700 Rupees per day (about $7) for each worker, and all the time in the world, buildings will continue to be built slowly and at tremendous effort.
Yet with this sort of work and wage, all we find are smiles and pride. This is just my own small example of the magnitude of the effort – and my effort was small relative to those who build day in and out while working twice as fast with half the breaks. They are slender, friendly, with big smiles, knowledge of English, and they don’t seem to ever stop working or welcoming.
Has anyone spoken yet of the tea? 10am is tea time. It is required we sit and rest – and we are served by those we work alongside. It is a new and awkward experience, but they wouldn’t have it any other way. A few minutes later we bring a football or a frisbee and lighten the mood – it’s appreciated all the way around.
I don’t know the purpose of the above story aside from showing my admiration of those who are born and build their lives with humble expectations on this beautiful island.
Bob Hardin
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010
Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Dmac's Update
We had a pretty inspiring day today. We worked in the morning at three different sites. In the afternoon we visited two schools and gave them all of the school supplies donated by our friends and families. At both schools we were warmly received and encouraged by their optimism and grace. Heather and Karly inspired our team with their speech to each school. Lastly we gave the local Soccer club all of our donated cleats. Bob Hardin was our spokesman and explained Softchoices' intent to make a difference with our trip to Sri Lanka. The Club President appreciated our support. Thanks everybody for your support.
Dmac (Softchoice President)
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010
Dmac (Softchoice President)
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010
Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Day 4
This morning, we had another labor intensive morning. We switched it up a bit by having teams go to different locations. Today our group went to the Sri Lankan family’s home to make cement from scratch, literally. We sifted the dirt before we mixed it with cement and water. We then used the cement to speckle the walls. The technique looks really easy…but don’t let that fool you.
During the afternoon, our mission was to deliver some of our donations to 2 schools and a soccer league. The first school was an all-boys school where we dropped off 2 duffel bags of school supplies. The teachers didn’t miss the opportunity to also mention that they also needed computer equipment and that many of the children needed black shoes for school. It’s tough sometimes when you realize that there are so many other things that can be done….
The second school made the other schools look like private schools. It was a small Muslim school of just over 100 students. When we opened the duffel bags, we took out the school supplies but what received the most reaction from the students were the skipping ropes and balls. Immediately, they ran outside with them to test them out. I was a little taken by surprise when I saw the yellow smiley face beach ball appear in their court yard. You see, this was one of the toys my 3 and half year old son decided to part with for the kids in Sri Lanka. Before the trip, I wasn’t sure if it was too cheap to pack as it probably only cost me less than $1 and I didn’t want to insult the children by giving them this cheap toy. All those concerns evaporated when I saw those kids play with that ball. Immediately, I had to join them and play what looked like a their version of beach volleyball. It felt so nice to connect with these boys and see how they appreciated this blow up ball knowing that they will get miles out of it. It was certainly a bitter sweet moment for me. And of course, I got a little (maybe a lot) chocked up when I shared my story with my colleagues during dinner time.
Our last stop of the day was at the soccer/cricket field where we dropped off all our cleats, soccer balls and a few other sporting equipment. Some of the kids followed us from the Muslim school and played a bit of soccer with us. It was pretty impressing to see them maneuver the ball with their bare feet.
I think it’s fair to say that the whole group feels pretty blessed to be part of this experience and greeted by such friendly people in Sri Lanka. This is certainly a experience I that will remain with me for a lifetime.
Carolyn
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010
During the afternoon, our mission was to deliver some of our donations to 2 schools and a soccer league. The first school was an all-boys school where we dropped off 2 duffel bags of school supplies. The teachers didn’t miss the opportunity to also mention that they also needed computer equipment and that many of the children needed black shoes for school. It’s tough sometimes when you realize that there are so many other things that can be done….
The second school made the other schools look like private schools. It was a small Muslim school of just over 100 students. When we opened the duffel bags, we took out the school supplies but what received the most reaction from the students were the skipping ropes and balls. Immediately, they ran outside with them to test them out. I was a little taken by surprise when I saw the yellow smiley face beach ball appear in their court yard. You see, this was one of the toys my 3 and half year old son decided to part with for the kids in Sri Lanka. Before the trip, I wasn’t sure if it was too cheap to pack as it probably only cost me less than $1 and I didn’t want to insult the children by giving them this cheap toy. All those concerns evaporated when I saw those kids play with that ball. Immediately, I had to join them and play what looked like a their version of beach volleyball. It felt so nice to connect with these boys and see how they appreciated this blow up ball knowing that they will get miles out of it. It was certainly a bitter sweet moment for me. And of course, I got a little (maybe a lot) chocked up when I shared my story with my colleagues during dinner time.
Our last stop of the day was at the soccer/cricket field where we dropped off all our cleats, soccer balls and a few other sporting equipment. Some of the kids followed us from the Muslim school and played a bit of soccer with us. It was pretty impressing to see them maneuver the ball with their bare feet.
I think it’s fair to say that the whole group feels pretty blessed to be part of this experience and greeted by such friendly people in Sri Lanka. This is certainly a experience I that will remain with me for a lifetime.
Carolyn
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010
Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Day 3
Oh boy, it’s our third day here and it’s been exhausting. We’ve started work at all the sites (the first full day) and we have a whole lot of our folks tired and exhausted but our spirits keep on going. Some of the highlights are:
- David MacDonald, Softchoice President, himself sporting a few nice juicy blisters (we followed the Sri Lankan technique for digging holes which was quite primitive compared to our North American standards)
- The children at Tangalle Primary School swarming around us and asking the Softchoice Cares board for autographs. Picture a rock concert and a dozen white North Americans amongst a hundred children holding up their notepads and asking for our autographs. So what did we do? We gave them our autographs!! Now we know what it feels like to be celebrities.
-The computer lab is finally setup!! We had our first set of visitors after classes – the kids sure are learning fast. However, the teachers are our number 1 priority, the first set of classes start tomorrow.
-James Corless shaking his booty at the late night beach party!
It was a long hard day, the team is tired! We still got a few more days ahead of us and we’re all pumped and excited!
Chris
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010
- David MacDonald, Softchoice President, himself sporting a few nice juicy blisters (we followed the Sri Lankan technique for digging holes which was quite primitive compared to our North American standards)
- The children at Tangalle Primary School swarming around us and asking the Softchoice Cares board for autographs. Picture a rock concert and a dozen white North Americans amongst a hundred children holding up their notepads and asking for our autographs. So what did we do? We gave them our autographs!! Now we know what it feels like to be celebrities.
-The computer lab is finally setup!! We had our first set of visitors after classes – the kids sure are learning fast. However, the teachers are our number 1 priority, the first set of classes start tomorrow.
-James Corless shaking his booty at the late night beach party!
It was a long hard day, the team is tired! We still got a few more days ahead of us and we’re all pumped and excited!
Chris
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010
Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Day 2
Yesterday was our first day where we had the opportunity to start working. However, before all three teams went to their posts to work (locations were: computer lab at school, a Tangalle family home and the Kalawatta Trades Training Center) we were given a tour of our locations all three locations plus we went to the Kelakettawatta community. Each place we went we were treated like royalty. The people here are so friendly and hospitable.
The first visit was the school. I got goosebumps when I saw the beautiful children lined up to greet us. They also gave us each a stack of beetle leaves which is a gesture to welcome us. Children were beating the drums and waving to us with huge bright smiles.
We then went to visit some homes that were built by Developing World Connections. We saw the before and after homes and even though the new ones were very modest in our standards the contrast was unbelievable. It feels good to be able to see what kind of impact we have with just a few weeks of work.
At the Kelakettawatta community, we were greeted with a welcome sign and each family stood at their door-front to greet us as we walked down the street. We were served a lunch before we headed to our work locations.
We only spent a few hours of work in the afternoon but let me tell you, we already have an appreciation for the workers who do this regularly. At the Kelakettawatta Trades Training Center, we dug holes with no machines!! At the Tangalle family home, the group learned how to spackle walls. After a short day of work (which seemed much longer), most of the folks took swim at the beach and after dinner everyone went to sleep.
We're looking forward for day 3!
Anonymous
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010
The first visit was the school. I got goosebumps when I saw the beautiful children lined up to greet us. They also gave us each a stack of beetle leaves which is a gesture to welcome us. Children were beating the drums and waving to us with huge bright smiles.
We then went to visit some homes that were built by Developing World Connections. We saw the before and after homes and even though the new ones were very modest in our standards the contrast was unbelievable. It feels good to be able to see what kind of impact we have with just a few weeks of work.
At the Kelakettawatta community, we were greeted with a welcome sign and each family stood at their door-front to greet us as we walked down the street. We were served a lunch before we headed to our work locations.
We only spent a few hours of work in the afternoon but let me tell you, we already have an appreciation for the workers who do this regularly. At the Kelakettawatta Trades Training Center, we dug holes with no machines!! At the Tangalle family home, the group learned how to spackle walls. After a short day of work (which seemed much longer), most of the folks took swim at the beach and after dinner everyone went to sleep.
We're looking forward for day 3!
Anonymous
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010
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